Monday, October 29, 2007

Photo by Maria Stenzel. Her comment, "I was shooting from the boat, on an unusually calm, sunny morning. Weaving among the icebergs, we could see chinstraps everywhere, many of them perched on the ice, resting from feeding or, in the case of juveniles, probably just hanging out. They are incredible athletes, able to scale the steepest of slopes, digging into the ice with their crampon-like claws."

The South Sandwich Islands are home to the world’s largest colony of chinstrap penguins. Every summer, two million or so pairs arrive on the island of Zavodovski. They immediately start mating and laying eggs. This gives them time to raise their chicks before winter. They fatten the chicks on krill, small prawn-like crustaceans in the sea, before winter comes and the ocean freezes over.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Penguin Squeezie is a penguin buddy that is here to help. Let off some stress or just strengthen your grip by giving this strong foam penguin a good squeezing. He instantly bounces back for more penguin squeezing fun. This penguin is approximately 4 inches tall.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Warm Whiskers’ Pocket Critter Penguin is lightly scented with lavender and chamomile, and when briefly heated in a microwave, it stays warm for ten minutes. This little critter is a nice warm-up for small, cold hands!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Galveston Island is getting some new residents and they showed up all the way from Canada.

The new islanders are a group of penguins from Biodome de Montreal. They are six Macaroni, five Gentoo and four Rock Hopper penguins.

"Adding these penguins will make for a more diverse collection, and will bring the total number of birds to 90," said Diane Olsen, assistant curator at Moody Gardens. "Our exhibit will also more closely mimic nature in the sub Antarctic."

The new penguins have been in a month long quarantine and now will join the penguins already in the South Atlantic exhibit.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Are you struggling to find a penguin gift for the person that has everything? How about one of our famous jars of "Penguin Poop"? Besides being a fantastic penguin conversation piece, the chocolate rock candy really tastes great. Why not buy a case and stock up for that long hard penguin winter?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Rodney the emperor penguin, equipped with a National Geographic Crittercam, gets ready to dive beneath the Antarctic ice.

Scientists were puzzled until recently by how Antarctica’s emperor penguins, stars of the 2005 documentary March of the Penguins, had adapted their feeding strategies to melting habitats threatening to endanger them. From above ground it seemed little had changed.

The Crittercam revealed that the penguins were diving deep under ice caps, using sunlight to spot small fish, and shooting up to catch them.

The Crittercam has already been used over 500 times on small whales, sharks, sea turtles and emperor penguins, and has changed the assumptions scientists had made about how those animals communicate, hunt, feed and nurse. More than 50 scientists attended the symposium this weekend to share how they have used Crittercam technology in their work.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Penguins make friends with each other and team up when they go on fishing trips, research has revealed.

Little penguins, the smallest penguin species, have been observed crossing the beach in groups of about five to ten as they go on long trips to find food for their chicks.

It is thought this grouping makes them less vulnerable to attacks from predators, but researchers led by Andre Chiaradia of the Philip Island Nature Park in Australia decided to see whether the penguins seek to choose particular fishing partners.

They found that middle-aged animals did tend to team up with the same penguins on different trips. However when fish were less scarce the birds were not so keen to fish with friends, suggesting they wanted to fish alone to avoid sharing food.

Fun Friends™ Plush Animal Cell Phone Covers are cute and stretch to fit most flip style cell phones. Made of the highest quality fabrics and materials, these adorable plush cell phone covers are a great gift or stocking stuffer for family and friends. Soft to the touch, these cute creatures are the perfect accessory for your cell phone.

Monday, October 15, 2007

365 Penguins - In this oversize picture book from France, family members deal with penguins that arrive at their home -- one a day, for a full year.

The highjinks begin on New Year's Day. As the penguin population increases, Dad, Mom, and the kids use multiplication and a few other schemes to organize, feed, and care for the increasing number of birds, but the scheme they hatch only meets with temporary success.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Entertain and amuse your family and holiday guests with this animated penguin that sings a rap version of "Jingle Bells" as he flaps his wings, moves his beak and sways to the music. Plush creature features sunglasses and a silver, snowflake bling-bling. Activate the rap by pushing the button on the penguin's left wing.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

The photo album of the Zoological Society of London, which has been running London Zoo for almost 180 years, is accessible online. Photographs of the historic zoo dating from the 19th century through to astonishing images of the present day can be viewed at www.zsl.org/printstore, bringing the Zoo’s history to life through the web.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The Yellow-eyed penguin is a black and white bird with distinct yellow eye stripes. It is a very secretive bird that nests away from others amongst dense vegetation normally raising two chicks every year.

This unique penguin is found only along New Zealands south islands' eastern coastline, as far north as Banks Peninsula and as far south as Stewart Island and beyond to Campbell Island.

In the 1980s research on the Otago Peninsula showed that the penguin population had declined severely, and that the yellow-eyed penguin was now considered to be an endangered species. This was due to severe predation and loss of habitat.

In 1987 Dunedin conservationists formed the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust with the aim of saving the penguin by restoring coastal forest and controlling predators. The penguin is the focus but the Trust's efforts also benefit other native species of plant and animal.

The Trust is based in Dunedin but manages land and penguin interests in the whole of mainland New Zealand.

The Trust's first twenty years have seen the penguin population increase, yet they are still a long way from being a self-sustaining population.